A recent development in rotor hub design for rotary wing aircraft has introduced a rotor connector in place of the torque tube. Typically, the rotor connector contains one or more structural members, a pitch shaft and a push rod assembly. The inboard end of this assembly is fixed to the main rotor hub by a spherical bearing mounted to fix the center of pitch rotation and react the push rod load in shear. While the outboard portion attaches to the rotor blade. Through the operation of the push rod and pitch shaft, it is possible to alter the pitch of the rotor blade to conform to a particular flight mode. This may be done by applying torque to the inboard portion of the pitch shaft via the push rod rotating or twisting the pitch shaft such that it changes the pitch of the rotor blade connected at the outboard end of the pitch shaft.
Rotor connectors of this type are about 3 to about 5 feet in length and since they are not aerodynamic in design, they generate aerodynamic drag when in use. In addition, if they are not covered, they are subject to attack by foreign objects and erosion by the elements. In the past, when a structure was non-aerodynamic, a rigid aerodynamic fairing would be used to both protect the structure as well as to conform into an aerodynamic shape, thus producing additional lift. However, such a rigid structure would not be able to withstand the bending and twisting motions associated with these novel rotor connectors. Therefore, what is needed in the art is a flexible compliant fairing which is capable of maintaining its aerodynamic shape in flight and will not lose its structural integrity when subjected to the twisting forces associated with the changes in blade pitch.